Elbows Bent Outward

“What is the deal with this little demon you are holding?”

Xuan Ya’s gaze fell on Lu Qiancha in Gan Tang’s arms, her tone extremely cold.

“Ah, this… this is Xun Xue’s daughter!”

Gan Tang stammered out a sentence.

Xuan Ya’s long brows furrowed slightly. “Xun Xue’s daughter?”

A strange thought crossed her mind. ‘Does that wolf demon immortal truly intend to make Tianquan Peak her home? The adult is a permanent resident, and now the child is here too?’

“Little one,” Xuan Ya did not press further about her identity, but instead leaned down slightly, her eyes that saw through the world locking directly onto Lu Qiancha, “tell me, why were you bullying my disciple just now?”

“Gan Tang is a direct disciple of this peak. Your actions are tantamount to trampling the face of Tianquan Peak underfoot.”

“May I interpret your earlier actions as a declaration of war from your Ice-Rending Wolf Clan against my Tianyuan Sect?”

Xuan Ya’s gaze was icy, carrying an invisible pressure, as if she intended to dissect her from the outside in.

“…”

Lu Qiancha’s body instantly tensed, her paws, resting on Gan Tang’s arm, digging tightly into the fabric of her clothes.

Xuan Ya’s expression grew even colder.

She stood up straight, her moon-white Daoist robe moving without any wind, and the temperature of the surrounding air plummeted.

“Since you refuse to speak…” Her voice was like a blade tempered in ice, each word striking the heart.

“Then tomorrow, I shall ask your mother, Xun Xue, to personally come to this peak for a visit. She and I will have a good, face-to-face talk!”

‘Calling my parents?! How is this getting more and more out of hand?!’

Lu Qiancha’s small face turned as pale as snow. She opened her mouth, her mind a blank slate, wanting to say something, but the words that reached her lips were only a meaningless and short gasp of air.

Just as this icy pressure was about to freeze the entire space.

“Ma… Master!”

Gan Tang, in a moment of desperate ingenuity, braved herself to interrupt again, her tone filled with sincerity: “Actually, we, um, were just playing a game.” She even added a descriptive detail for effect: “It was that kind of game. Um… piggyback riding.”

Xuan Ya: “…”

The air seemed to fall silent for a moment.

The painstakingly created solemn atmosphere… popped like a punctured balloon, all the air rushing out with a whoosh.

Xuan Ya looked expressionlessly at her own foolish disciple, who was spouting nonsense with a straight face.

‘Why is she siding with an outsider?’

‘Can’t you see that I was just applying pressure so I could find an excuse to fleece some benefits from that demon immortal for you and Qiancha?’

Xuan Ya took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the irritation flaring up inside her, and flicked the horsetail whisk in her hand with considerable force.

It was a good thing she still had that relatively reliable little disciple, Lu Qiancha, to look after her. Otherwise, this foolish disciple would sooner or later be sold off by someone and still be helping them count the money.

Finally, Xuan Ya’s gaze settled on Lu Qiancha, then she glanced at Gan Tang, and after letting out a slow breath, she said, “The path of cultivation emphasizes inner tranquility and outer harmony! What kind of behavior is this, fighting and fooling around like this?!”

“Master’s lesson is right! This disciple knows her mistake! I won’t dare to do it again!” Gan Tang immediately bowed her head in submission, her attitude extremely proper.

Xuan Ya shot a cold glance at Gan Tang, then turned away with a flick of her sleeve, delivering her final judgment: “Since you know your mistake, return to your room at once and transcribe the sect’s rules and regulations twenty times!

“I will come to inspect your work at this time tomorrow. If you are short by even one copy… hmph.”

The final “hmph” was wrapped in an unfinished chill. The moment the words were spoken, that cold, moon-white figure departed with a flick of her sleeve.

As Xuan Ya’s cold, moon-white back disappeared beyond the hanging flower gate, the tense air in the courtyard instantly slackened as if a floodgate had been opened.

Gan Tang’s brief moment of cleverness seemed to have been completely drained. She was like a wilted vegetable, her small mouth pouting so much you could hang an oil bottle from it.

She slowly lowered her head, staring aggrievedly at the culprit in her arms.

“Senior Brother…”

“Alright, alright…”

Lu Qiancha waved her small paw with a mix of helplessness and resignation, her tone unconsciously softening: “Alright, alright, don’t look like you’re about to cry…”

She awkwardly averted her gaze, the tips of her blue ears twitching slightly.

“…I’ll help you copy half of them!”

Gan Tang’s face, which had been clouded over just a second ago, was instantly pierced by sunlight, and all the gloominess dissipated.

“Woohoo! Senior Brother! I knew you were the best!”

Gan Tang fiercely lifted Lu Qiancha high into the air, completely ignoring the other’s terrified, fur-bristling “Woah!”

Then, she buried her face in Lu Qiancha’s small belly, which had a faint vanilla scent—and took two deep breaths.

“Woah! Gan Tang, hahaha, that tickles, stop sniffing!”

Lu Qiancha was sent into a fit of tickles by this sudden attack. Her two short legs flailed wildly in the air, her paws fruitlessly pushing against the head that seemed to be welded to her small belly, twisting like a fish hauled onto land.

Gan Tang, feeling the soft little loli in her arms twisting to the point of cramping, finally lifted her head, not yet fully satisfied.

“Hehe…” Gan Tang carefully placed the bristling little loli back on the ground.

Then, she clasped her hands together in front of her chest with a smack.

The smile on her face instantly switched to an unprecedented solemnity and seriousness, her gaze focused.

“Senior Brother, I’ll leave the other half to you then.”

With those words, Gan Tang walked towards the west wing with heavy steps, carrying an air of tragic heroism, like a hero setting off on a journey from which there is no return.

Leaving behind a blue-furred little loli whose legs were a bit wobbly.

A moment later, Lu Qiancha shook her head. She first went to the east wing, intending to find Xun Xue to get the ingredients and recipe for the Shapeshifting Pill they had discussed earlier…

The door to the east wing was tightly shut.

Lu Qiancha raised her small paw and knocked on Xun Xue’s door.

No one answered.

‘Looks like she’s out?’

Helpless, Lu Qiancha had no choice but to take out her Jade Signet and send her a message.

Buzz, buzz.

The Jade Signet vibrated almost instantly, and Xun Xue replied with a single message: “Out to play, will be back in a few days. I’ll bring you back some good food and fun things!”

Lu Qiancha looked at the pulsating spiritual light on the jade talisman: “…”

Fine. She resignedly replied with an “Okay.” This grand plan of pill refining would have to be put on hold for now.

Returning to her room, the little loli finally had a moment of peace.

Plop—

She completely let go of all her disguises and defenses, and like a soft, blue glutinous rice ball, she spread out completely on the cool wooden table in a most unladylike fashion.

Her cheek pressed against the tabletop, the cool sensation spreading through her nerves. She let out a long, comfortable sigh… a sigh with a soft, trailing note.

After resting for a good while, the remnants of her reason barely managed to pull her out of the temptation of slacking off.

Lu Qiancha resignedly took out an inkstone, an ink stick, a brush, and a thick stack of Xuan paper from her storage pouch. Her paws gripped the small pine-soot ink stick and ground it in the inkstone for a long time.

The ink gradually thickened. She took a deep breath—time to start!

Her paws carefully picked up a fine-tipped brush.

Her spiritual sense flowed out like mercury, delicately wrapping around her paw-toes and the brush handle.

There were a total of fourteen rules in the Tianyuan Sect, and the overall word count was not that large.

The tip of the brush lightly dipped into the thick ink.

Pen to paper.

Imitating Gan Tang’s elegant yet slightly willful handwriting.

This kind of extremely precise operation consumed spiritual sense very quickly. After writing a short passage, the invisible threads controlling the brush tip seemed as if they were about to snap.

The handwriting began to waver…

The sharp, stabbing pain of spiritual sense depletion began to drill into her mind…

“Ngh…”

Lu Qiancha had no choice but to stop, placing the brush back on the brush rest.

Her whole body slumped back into the chair, and she closed her eyes to circulate her mental arts, thirstily recovering her spiritual sense.

After recovering a little…

Lu Qiancha gritted her teeth, lifted her paw, and continued to copy, channeling her spiritual sense!

Stall… recover… continue writing… stall…

This mechanical and painful cycle repeated itself in the silent room.

The moonlight from outside the window slanted in from the treetops, dyeing a corner of the desk with a clear glow. The ink in the inkstone, which had been full, was already half-empty.

A thick stack of Xuan paper was piled up.

When a very faint, hazy fish-belly white appeared on the eastern horizon…

Thud!

The brush finally rolled powerlessly onto the brush stand.

Lu Qiancha, relying on her last ounce of instinct, put down the brush.

She let out a huge yawn, her sapphire-like eyes filled with a thick, inseparable mist of moisture.

So sleepy…

The fatigue from spiritual sense depletion was like a heavy shackle.

She couldn’t go on. If she didn’t sleep soon, she felt like her primordial spirit was going to flee her body…

She staggered to her feet, and using both paws, she clumsily but carefully put away the brush and gathered the stack of Xuan paper filled with elegant handwriting.

Finally, she took out a heavy, thick black jade paperweight and, with a thud, pressed it firmly on top of the stack of her work, as if sealing a demon.

Done! Time to sleep.

Then, she sent a message to Gan Tang: “My part is done. You can come and get it before Master checks.”

After that, Lu Qiancha took three steps to her bed, threw off her clothes, pulled up the small quilt, and the moment her body touched the warmth of the pillow and bedding, her final thread of consciousness was like a broken kite string…

Poof!

Her consciousness plunged into a chaotic, soft dreamland.